The 9 Coolest Celebrity Tattoos of 2017

These days, getting a tattoo doesn’t set you apart, but what you get a tattoo of does. This year, we saw a slew of our favorite athletes, actors, and musicians go under the needle and come out the other side with everything from body-blanketing murals to misspelled script. In short, this was the year for going big with body art. We rounded up the coolest, craziest, most creative tattoos that were inked in 2017.

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The Rock

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's bicep bull tattoo was finally completed in August. And it just took about 30 hours over the course of four tattoo sessions and years of transformation. We don’t know if it’s because his bicep is just that big, or if planning this monster of a tattoo just took a lot of thought. The bull, which began as a pretty standard longhorn skull, is now full of symbolism—which he took to Instagram to explain:

“…Horns always positioned forward. Not up, but forward - representing forward progress and always at the ready to dig in and dig deep. Eye is the mana - the spirit and the power. It’s everything. It’s where I draw my strength from all things I love and protect. As with my Polynesian tattoo on the left side of body, the symbolic mana lays over my heart. We all have mana. Our strength. You just have to find it.

…Every detail is a reflection of my own personal history. From the cracks and heavy damage in the bone representing life's hard lessons I've learned over the years. Just like scars and wrinkles - I'm so grateful to have 'em because they're earned.

… Depending on the light and angle, sometimes the energy's subtle and sometimes it's glaring. But it's always alive and ready to disrupt the universe and love and protect my family and all things I love with intense passion and gratitude. Cheers to living, learning, evolving and growing. And to the positive disrupters ready to dent the universe.”

David Beckham

Everybody’s favorite tatted footballer added a few more to his collection of tattoos this year—and if you weren’t looking for them, you probably couldn’t find them in his sea of ink. The dad of four unveiled what appeared to be a tattoo of four birds of prey on his neck, the word “Dadda” on his neck, and a new “seven” tattoo on his right forefinger, which is the middle name of his daughter Harper and his former Manchester United and England jersey number. And those are just a few. He’s loyal to his tattoo artist, Mark Mahoney at the Shamrock Social Club—so we hope he gets a valued customer discount at this point.

A post shared by David Beckham (@davidbeckham) on Dec 13, 2017 at 10:57am PST

Justin Bieber

In October, the Biebs unveiled a massive, Gothic-inspired torso tattoo that took three days and more than 26 hours of needlework to complete. The design—which was completed by celebrity favorite tattoo artist Bang Bang (of Bang Bang NYC) features a huge display of columns and gargoyles. This full torso piece incorporates a few other tats—including an impressively large bald eagle, a lion’s head, and a roaring bear.

Drake

2017 was a big year for Drake. He released More Life, and got a smattering of new tattoos—most of which are tributes to the people and things that he admires. First, Drake added to his portrait collection with a sketch of Denzel Washington from the 1990 movie Mo' Better Blues. When Jimmy Fallon showed Denzel a photo of the tat while on The Tonight Show, Denzel just responded, “That’s crazy.” Drizzy also added a sketch of a bottle of Drakkar Noir to his shoulder (a nod to his original Instagram handle and his love for the scent), bee pollinating a hibiscus flower, a portrait of his mentor Lil Wayne on his bicep, and a second portrait of Sade.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jul 24, 2017 at 7:57pm PDT

Odell Beckham Jr.

OBJ is covered in tats. He sports full arm and leg sleeves, back pieces, chest pieces, and has just about every visible inch of himself inked. And he made a new addition in 2017. We don’t know how he found the room, but the NFL superstar tatted the legendary Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield cover from Sports Illustrated.

Brooklyn Beckham

We can’t say that we made the best choices at 18, and neither can most folks who get tatted the second it’s legal for them to get into a parlor unaccompanied by a guardian, but hey, Brooklyn Beckham isn’t every 18 year old. The son of David and Victoria Beckham enlisted tattoo artist Dr. Woo to brand his chest with this incredibly detailed and well-done cupid.

Ed Sheeran

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Youtube/Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is covered in very colorful, very colorbook-esque tattoos. Honestly, about 90 percent of his ink looks like he imprinted himself with the left-behind doodle pages of 100 Applebee’s kids menu eaters. But, that doesn’t mean he doesn't get it right. On the set of his “Galway Girl” music video starring Saoirse Ronan, he decided to get a tattoo on camera, designed by her. But instead of “Galway Girl,” Ronan wrote “Galway Grill.” To summarize the story: Ed Sheeran now has an actual tattoo that says “Galway Grill” on his arm in Saoirse Ronan’s handwriting. It's hilarious and a good reminder not to take things too seriously. Especially permanent things.

Marcus Epps

A Major League Soccer team, the Philadelphia Union, recently hired a “Chief Tattoo Officer” to be a part of everything from fundraisers to team events. That way, the players and fans can show their loyalty (forever) any time they want. The artist? Jay Cunliffe, owner of Bonedaddys Tattoo. Union player Marcus Epps started with this clean and detailed dream catcher on his inner bicep.

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